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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Sunday / December 22.
  • By ALEX KLINE

    After a stellar July, Devin Thomas started August off on the right foot.

    The 2012 6-foot-8 power forward from Mid Penn Motion and Central Dauphin High in Pennsylvania reeled in four new offers from Marquette, Temple, Penn State and Wake Forest.

    During July, Thomas said that Penn State and new coach Pat Chambers led for his services. However, that is no longer the case.

    Katin Reinhardt, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Deiis planning unofficials to UNLV, Texas and Baylor this month during family trips, and may also get to St. John’s and Washington State.

    Ernie Reinhardt, his father, told SNY.tv by phone that his son will visit UNLV “this weekend” on Thursday and Friday because the family will be visiting Katin’s grandmother.

    From Aug. 18-20, Reinhardt will trip to visit Ernie’s brother in Austin, Texas.

    “He’s going to go out to Texas on the 18th to the 20th and my brother lives in Austin so it’s kind of nice,” Ernie said. “My brother will go with him to the school.

    Dakari Johnson, a 6-foot-11 rising sophomore, must will sit out the upcoming school year after transferring to Montverde (Fla.) Academy from Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, headmaster Kasey Kesselring told the Orlando Sentinel.

    According to Florida High School Athletic Association rules, a player following his coach to a different school is ineligible to compete for a year, Kesselring told the paper.

    “The biggest thing is the kid is a great kid and is going to be a great player one day,” current Montverde and former St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle told SNY.tv by phone. “Obviously, we feel awful that he won’t be able to play this year. We had told him and his mom that this would be a possibility a couple months ago so they knew coming in that this was very much possible coming but they still thought it was advantageous. It’s a great school academically to come to. They knew well this could happen.”

    Jaylen Bond, a onetime Pittsburgh commit, has instead pledged to Texas over Temple, Penn State and other schools.

    “I just committed to Texas,” the 6-foot-7 forward told Alex Kline of The Recruit Scoop. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to be a Longhorn. I will not be attending St. Thomas Moore, I will be enrolling early at Texas, instead.”

    Bond had planned on doing a postgraduate year at St. Thomas Moore — potentially alongside big man Andre Drummond — but will head to Texas after being recruited by new assistant Rob Lanier.


    NEW YORK
    — The way Kevin Durant is lighting up summer leagues in New York City, he may not want to leave American soil anytime soon.

    Durant put up 41 points for The Franchise in a 146-143 overtime victory against Big Apple Basketball Tuesday before a standing-room only crowd in the Nike Pro City League at Baruch College.

    The Oklahoma City Thunder forward was coming off a 66-point outburst in the famed Rucker Park Monday night, and has now scored 107 points in two nights in New York City.

    Yet Durant said he’s considering going to Europe if the NBA lockout lasts into the fall.

    “Yeah, I’m about 50/50 right now,” Durant told SNY.tv before the game at Baruch College. “I just kind of weigh my options and see how this lockout goes. And just stay positive, though, that we’ll have a season.”

    During the early rounds of last year’s NCAA Tournament, Dan Hurley booked a game for his Wagner Seahawks to play UConn during the 2011-12 season.

    At that time, Kemba Walker and the Huskies had come off winning five Big East Tournament games in five days to capture the crown, but they were not yet the NCAA champions.

    “We didn’t know they were going to win it, but we were looking for an exciting out-of-conference opponent that would provide a really good barometer for where we’re at,” Hurley told SNY.tv by phone Tuesday. “And it also gives the chance to show recruits that we’re trying to play exciting games, games in venues that they’ll remember for the rest of their career.”

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